"From John Douglas--the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show 'Mindhunter'--comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

From John Douglas—the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show Mindhunter—comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him.

On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. Based on the crime scene and the abductor’s repeated and taunting calls to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next day entitled “Last Will & Testament,” in which Shari, knowing she was to be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents, siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which enlisted profiler John Douglas. A few days later, a phone call told the family where they could find Shari’s body.

Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard, confirming the harsh realization that Smith’s murder was no random act. A serial killer was evolving, and the only way to stop him would be to use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught strategy to use Shari’s lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed.

One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas’s storied career, this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created—alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer’s psychology—combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari’s family took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows, Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic and remorseless killer.

Booklist Reviews

A true-crime book from the writing team that inspired the Mindhunter series on Netflix, this book focuses on the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Shari Smith and Debra May Helmick. In this case, the killer frequently called and spoke to family members of Shari Smith before he was apprehended. Douglas worked the case with his FBI counterparts and local law enforcement. The book begins just before the first kidnapping and proceeds step-by-step through the investigation stage of the case, the arrest, interrogation, court cases, appeals, and execution of the murderer. Reader Sellon-Wright does well with some tough subject matter. The voice of the killer in this case features prominently, and he uses a distinctive voice so that we can easily identify when he's talking. The rest of the major players are also differentiated, and the story is told in a well-paced and easy-to-understand manner. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.